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Buick Encore takes a hit of Mokka to tackle Dakar

There are many vehicles we'd consider taking racing. Even on a cross-country rally as punishing as the Dakar. But a Buick Encore? That's not one that would enter our motorsports-based consciousness. Yet it's basically what General Motors is entering in the South American rally raid this year, and you're looking at it.
Unveiled at the Moscow Motor Show, this rally machine is based on (or at least billed as) an Opel Mokka - the name that GM's European brand applies to the vehicle Americans know as the Encore, Buick's subcompact crossover. Only it's obviously been extensively modified. It's got a ten-inch raised suspension, a 137-gallon fuel tank, carbon-fiber bodywork and... hold on, we're sure we're missing something here. Oh, right: a 6.2-liter V8 kicking out 340 horsepower and 487 pound-feet of torque to all four wheels through a six-speed sequential gearbox.
In other words, this is not the same Encore (or Mokka) you can pick up at your local Buick, Opel or Vauxhall dealership. It's not even close. It's not even recognizable as such, really. It was unveiled alongside a more sedate Opel Mokka Moscow Edition and a slew of other local debuts for the Opel brand that you can read more about in the (translated and original) Russian press release below.

Junkyard Gem: 1962 Buick LeSabre 2-Door Sport Coupe

American car shoppers looking for a full-sized hardtop coupe in 1962 couldn't go wrong with the offerings from The General. Chevrolet would sell you a snazzy new Bel Air sport coupe for just $2,561 (about $23,800 today), but those Joneses next door wouldn't have felt properly shamed if you put a new proletariat-grade Chevy in your driveway. No, to really stand tall during the era of Alfred Sloan's Ladder of Success, you had to go higher up on the GM food chain. For the B-platform full-sized cars of 1962, that meant the Pontiac Catalina/Bonneville beat the Chevy, the Oldsmobile 88 was the next step up the ladder, and at the very top was the Buick: the hot-rod Invicta and its swanky LeSabre sibling. To go beyond that, you had to move up to a C-platform Buick Electra or Cadillac. Today's Junkyard Gem is a once-luxurious '62 LeSabre, now much-faded in a northeastern Colorado boneyard. The reason GM shoppers got so bent out of shape about the "Chevymobile" episodes of the late 1970s, in which some GM cars received engines made by "lesser" GM divisions, was that each division had its own family of V8 engines during the 1950s and 1960s and they weren't supposed to be mingled. The '62 LeSabre got a 401-cubic-inch (6.5-liter) Nailhead engine (so called because the valves were unusually small), rated at 265, 280, or 325 (depending on what kind of compression ratio and carburetion you wanted). That's not crazy horses for a big-displacement, two-ton luxury coupe of its era, but the small valves allowed for combustion chambers optimized for one thing: low-rpm torque. This 401 has the two-barrel carburetor, so it made either 412 or 425 pound-feet of torque. That's just a bit less than the mighty Cadillac's engine that year, and definitely sufficient to get this car moving very quickly. You had to pay a fat premium on the Chevrolet, Pontiac, and Oldsmobile B-bodies to get an automatic transmission (a three-speed column-shift manual was base equipment in those cars), but a Turbine-Drive (formerly known as the Dyna-Flow) automatic was standard issue on the 1962 LeSabre. This was an interesting transmission design that traced its origins back to the 1942 M18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer and used torque-converter multiplication to provide a CVT-like experience with no perceptible shifts (the driver could select a separate low gearset manually, so the shifter looks just like the one on the true two-speed Powerglide transmission).

Buick Regal, Hyundai Sonata

Toyota is ramping up production of an all-new 2018 Camry and spending over $1 billion – with a "b" – at its Georgetown, Ky., plant. That investment speaks to the popularity of midsize sedans, despite sales inroads made by crossovers. While Accord and Camry are givens in the segment, less attention is paid to Buick's Regal and Hyundai's Sonata. And if shopping for a midsize sedan with a $30,000 budget, you should pay attention. Both offer a compelling combination of attributes and can be well equipped for that price point. Finally, both are due for either a major redesign (Regal) or aggressive freshening (Sonata) in the 2018 model year. Both Buick and Hyundai will be offering incentives 2017s, but Hyundai's program is more aggressive, with up to $6,000 in savings (as this is written). BUICK REGAL: For those seeking exclusivity at well below an "exclusive" price, there is the Regal. Designed by GM's Opel as the Insignia, the version sold stateside keeps most of its Eurocentric nature. It doesn't pretend to be an Audi or BMW, but it provides something more German than Volkswagen's Germany-by-way-of-Tennessee Passat. A Regal, in all-wheel-drive 'Regal' trim, supplies you with a turbocharged 2.0 liter and 6-speed automatic transmission. Its 259 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque propel the 3,600-pound Regal with authority and respectable efficiency. Despite its relatively low curb weight, the Regal feels substantial, with a heavy feel behind the wheel and a quiet authority going down the road. Inside, you'll find an interesting mix of Old World and New Detroit, with informative gauges, a center stack that dominates the instrument panel, supportive buckets up front and a reasonably spacious rear seat. The Regal's interior volume is respectable (97 cubic feet inside, while the trunk has 14 cubic feet), but this remains a better environment for young families or empty nesters. Those with a lot of kids or stuff should shop Buick's about-to-be-redesigned Enclave or midsize Envision. For the 2017 model year, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto have been added. The Driver Confidence 1 package (optional) includes Forward Collision Alert, Lane Departure Warning, Lane Change Alert, Side Blind Zone Alert, Rear Cross-Traffic Alert, Following Distance Indicator and memory seats. Driver Confidence 2 has Collision Preparation with Collision Mitigation Braking and Full Speed Range Adaptive Cruise Control. It's all good stuff.